ISRO's collaborative Axiom Mission-4 postponed to June 8

The much-awaited launch of Axiom Mission 4 (Ax-4), which will be piloted by India’s Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla, has now been pushed to June 8. Initially scheduled for May 29, the launch was postponed due to a technical glitch.

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The mission will launch Peggy Whitson, a former NASA astronaut and director of human spaceflight at Axiom Space, ISRO (Indian Space Research Organisation) astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla, ESA (European Space Agency) project astronaut Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski of Poland, and Tibor Kapu of Hungary. It will be the first time, three nations other than the US, will execute a mission on board the ISS.

India is spending more than Rs 500 crore on the mission. Ax-4 marks India’s return to human spaceflight mission after a gap of four decades. Shukla’s experience will also be vital for India’s Gaganyaan mission.

The private crew will launch aboard a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft and Falcon 9 rocket from National Aeronautics Space Agency’s (NASA) Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

“The private astronauts will work alongside the Expedition 73 (a separate space expedition to the International Space Station) crew aboard the orbiting laboratory for a short time, conducting mission-related science, outreach and commercial activities,” NASA said in a statement.

This mission also lays the groundwork for Axiom Station, the first commercial space station, which will offer a permanent platform for research, manufacturing and human spaceflight.